Separators for fuel cells (fuel cell separators) may be manufactured by press-forming. For example, one proposed technique press-forms an adequate concavo-convex structure on each fuel cell separator.
The method of press-forming a fuel cell separator determines the concavo-convex structure of the separator by noting the shape of only one face of the separator, for example, for formation of a reactive gas flow path or for formation of a refrigerant flow path, and does not specifically pay attention to the shape of the other face formed as the reverse of the concavo-convex structure. This is ascribed to the difference between required properties and characteristics for the reactive gas flow path and those for the refrigerant flow path. The prior art press-forming method thus requires production of different separators for the reactive gas flow path and for the refrigerant flow path. Another disadvantage of the prior art method is lowered electrical conductivity and lowered heat conductivity.